OCEAN CITY – Roy Gillian, a former mayor of Ocean City and founder of Gillian’s Wonderland Pier on the boardwalk, died at his home on Saturday, Aug. 17. He was 94.
Gillian was deeply involved in Ocean City and Cape May County government, serving as a city commissioner from 1963 to 1967, as a county freeholder from 1971 to 1976, as county Municipal Utilities Authority commissioner from 1982 to 1986, and as mayor of Ocean City from 1986 to 1990.
Overlapping with this service, he was chairman and director of Ocean City Home Bank for 34 years, as well as a past president of Shore Medical Center in Somers Point.
Gillian’s son, Jay, is Ocean City’s current mayor, now in his fourth term. Jay Gillian announced this month that this will be the final year for the Wonderland Pier, which he said is no longer a viable business.
Roy Gillian was born as the Great Depression began, on Nov. 5, 1929. He grew up in Havertown, Pennsylvania, graduating from Havertown High School in 1947. He served in the Army from 1951 to 1953.
Soon after his Army service, he joined with his brother Robert in working at the family’s Fun Deck amusement park, founded by his father, David Gillian, in 1930.
Gillian left the family business in 1965 to found Gillian’s Wonderland Pier, on the Ocean City boardwalk at Sixth Street.
His involvement with the cultural phenomenon of American amusement parks occurred as major changes swept through the industry. Disneyland opened in California in 1955, Six Flags Over Texas in 1961, and Disney World in Florida in 1971.
Gillian was a past president and board member of the International Association of Amusement Parks and a past president and director of the New Jersey Amusement Association.
His obituary said he had a lifelong love of music. Immediately following high school and before beginning his Army service, he led Roy Gillian & His Orchestra from 1947 to 1951. He continued to entertain people with his piano playing throughout his adult life.
Gillian is survived by his wife of 39 years, Patricia, and his sons, Steven and Jay, along with Jay Gillian’s wife, Michele. He was the grandfather of 12 children and the great-grandfather of nine.
He was predeceased by sons John and James Gillian.
Visitation will be Wednesday, Aug. 21, from noon until 2 p.m. at the Ocean City Tabernacle, 550 Wesley Ave.
Arrangements state that flowers are being accepted. Memorial contributions may be made in Gillian’s memory to Shore Medical Center, 100 Medical Center Way, Somers Point, N.J. 08244.
Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
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